Alone
by UngoauldedUnas
Summary: SG1 finds the survivor of an ambush. Daniel's connection with this young refugee challenges him to think about his past.
1. Chapter 1

Story Title: Alone

Author Name: UngoauldedUnas

Story Rating: K+

Warnings: violence, but it's not described in any detail at all

Category: Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort

Season: Seven (but before Heroes part 1)

Related Episodes: Singularity, The Gamekeeper, Crystal Skull, Stargate the Movie, Children of the Gods, The Curse, Forever in a Day, A Hundred Days, and an ever-so-slight reference to Legacy

Characters: Jack, Sam, Daniel, Teal'c, Hammond, Janet Fraiser

Story Summary: SG-1 finds the survivor of an ambush. Daniel's connection with this young refugee challenges him to think about his past.

Author Notes: I hope you enjoy this story. If you find yourself not enjoying it, then stop reading it! ;o)

Disclaimer: With the exception of Maylin, they don't belong to me. They belong to MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. I'm plotting to steal Daniel, but that's another story... ;o)

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**CHAPTER 1**

SG-1 was walking through a thick forest by a mountain on a new planet. They walked somewhat spread out in search of some form of civilization.

Jack, becoming impatient, asked, "Carter? How far have we walked so far?"

"A little over a mile, sir," Sam answered.

Jack sighed. "You'd think we'd find something other than _trees_ by now."

Daniel turned to his right, looking around the corner edge of the mountain they had been walking by. "Uh, Jack? I think we just found . . . _it_."

Jack, Sam, and Teal'c joined Daniel in staring at a clearing that contained a village. It had obviously been attacked. There were bodies lying everywhere.

Jack ripped the hat off of his head and slapped it on his leg. "Whoa. What happened here?"

Teal'c strode forward a little toward the village. He then stooped down, looking at foot prints.

"An ambush," answered Daniel.

Jack glared at him. "I know _that!_ You know Daniel, _some_ questions are _rhetorical_."

Daniel didn't even look at Jack and just shrugged off the comment. He was too shocked at the sight in front of them to pay very much attention to Jack's smart-aleck remark.

"O'Neill!" shouted Teal'c. Looking up at Jack, he continued. "Jaffa have been here." He looked back down at the tracks to study them some more.

"Why am I _not_ surprised?" Jack sighed. "Alright kids, fan out. Check for signs of life, but keep your eyes open for any bad guys that might still be hangin' around," Jack ordered as he put his hat back on his head. He waved for Carter to go to the right and Daniel to go to the left. They nodded and walked off, pausing at each person they passed to see if he or she was still alive.

Jack walked up to Teal'c. "Can you tell how many were here?"

"At this time I am uncertain of the exact number, but I would say several," Teal'c said, looking up at the Colonel. His concern about the situation was obvious to Jack.

"OK," Jack said, patting Teal'c on the back. "You walk through the village between the very middle and where Carter's looking. I'll check out the parts between you and Daniel."

Teal'c nodded and did as he was told.

All of them stopped at each person they saw lying on the ground. They all had wounds from staff weapons. When they checked for pulses, they found none.

ooOoo

As they were getting toward the end of their search, Daniel walked into the last of the cabin-like homes he was to check. When he glanced inside, as he had with all the others, he had to do a double take. All of the other homes had been deserted, but this one wasn't. He saw a small figure toward the back of the house lying in the fetal position on a bed facing away from him and toward the wall.

ooOoo

"Report," Jack radioed to the others.

"I have found no one that is still alive," Teal'c replied.

"Same here, sir," Sam radioed back, frustration apparent in her voice.

"Yeah, me too," Jack returned with dismay. "Daniel?"

ooOoo

As Daniel half-way listened to the conversation on his radio, he slowly walked closer to the figure in the back of the home.

"Daniel?" Jack was becoming impatient again. And he was hoping the archeologist wasn't touching something he wasn't supposed to.

"Yeah, I think I may have something. Hang on," Daniel radioed quietly.

He kneeled down by the bed. The figure was a young girl, probably around eight years old. She had no obvious wounds from what he could see. Daniel could also tell that she was breathing. 'She's alive,' he thought with relief and surprise.

"I found a girl," Daniel radioed to his teammates, "And she's alive."

The girl made no movements. Daniel wondered if she was unconscious or even possibly asleep. He hadn't dared to touch her yet, for fear that he would scare her if she was conscious.

"Where are you?" Jack asked.

"In the house in the very back corner of the village," Daniel reported.

Daniel very gingerly put his hand on her arm. She still didn't move. "Hello?" he said softly.

"What's her condition?" asked Sam through the radio as she started her way toward Daniel's position.

"I'm not sure yet," Daniel answered. He was still trying to figure out if she was conscious without scaring her. He leaned over her to get a look at her from the front. Her eyes were open and, again, there appeared to be no obvious wounds. Just then he saw a tiny bit of red on the covering of the bed. 'Blood,' he thought. But it was such a little trace that he figured that she was going to be fine. 'It might not even be her blood.'

Daniel kneeled back down on the floor. "Hello?" he said softly again. He decided that he needed to turn her over onto her back in order to assess the situation better. He did this slowly and gently. "If you can understand me," he said in a soothing voice, "I'm just checking to see if you're hurt."

She still made no effort to struggle against him or communicate. She easily rolled onto her back, her eyes still wide open and now staring straight up at the ceiling of the little room. However, it seemed as though she was off in her imagination in another world.

She was a very pretty little girl, Daniel noted. But why was she lying here? Why hadn't she been hurt? Could the Jaffa have not seen her?

Daniel looked her over carefully, checking for wounds. He had a feeling that there was a good chance she was in a state of emotional trauma considering she was non-responsive. 'That would make sense,' he thought, 'especially if she saw the attack. Poor kid.'

"I think she might be emotionally traumatized, but she doesn't have a staff weapon wound like all the others," Daniel radioed in answer to Sam's question.

As he looked at her right arm, the one that had been tucked under her when Daniel had first found her, he saw cuts in her skin. "What the . . . ?" he said confused. These weren't just random cuts. These cuts formed a symbol of some sort. He took his finger and traced over the symbol in the air just above her arm. A look of recognition and then dismay came over his face. He glanced around hurriedly at the bed. And there it was: A small stick with just a bit of blood on the end of it. "Oh, no," he muttered. 'So it was her blood after all.'

Just then Jack and Sam came into the room. Daniel swung around to look at them.

"Where's Teal'c?" Daniel asked with a worried look on his face.

"Outside keeping a look-out," Jack said, wondering what Daniel was thinking. "Why? You need him?"

"No! . . . No." Daniel answered quickly, looking back at the girl.

Jack furrowed his brow in confusion. "Daniel?"

Sam walked over to the bed and leaned over the girl. "So she's not been wounded at all?"

"Uh, well . . ." Daniel started to answer but couldn't finish before Sam saw the markings on the girl's arm.

"Daniel? What's that?" she asked. She seemed to recognize that the wounds formed a symbol.

Jack came over to get a closer look. "What?"

Sam pointed to the markings as Daniel began to explain. "It's a mark of death." He stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. "It appears to be self-inflicted."

"Oh, no," Sam said in surprise. Looking very concerned, she walked toward Daniel as he moved out of her way. She kneeled down where he had just been, getting a closer look at the girl.

"My sentiments exactly," Daniel said in a low voice.

"I'd say she's been traumatized all right," she said as she looked into the girl's eyes.

"Daniel?" Jack said as he backed up and motioned with an index finger for Daniel to come closer.

Daniel moved toward Jack, but he couldn't help just staring back at the girl. He seemed very worried.

As Daniel walked toward Jack, Sam tried to communicate with the girl. "Hi there," she said in a calm voice, trying to smile through her concern. "I'm Sam. My friends and I are here to help you." She rubbed her hand on the girl's cheek. "Can you tell me your name?" No response. "Can you hear me?" The girl just continued to stare up at the ceiling as if Sam wasn't even there.

Daniel stood next to Jack, watching Sam and the girl. Jack gathered his thoughts. "So . . . she marked herself for dead. Why would she do that?"

Daniel cleared his throat. Sam listened from the bed as he spoke. "Well, she's obviously scared. She could have done it because everyone else around her is dead. Or she might have done it because she thinks the Jaffa are coming back and therefore thinks she's as good as dead."

Jack turned to look Daniel straight in the eyes. "Thinks they're coming back? Or knows?"

Daniel's eyes grew wide. He hadn't thought of that. He whirled around and dashed back over next to the bed. "Can I, uh . . . ?" He asked looking at Sam, motioning to where she was kneeling.

"Sure," she said. She moved out of Daniel's way and looked over at Jack. Now he seemed worried.

Jack got on his radio. "Teal'c? You haven't seen anyone around, have you?"

"I have not," Teal'c radioed back.

"Good. Go back to the 'gate. Dial home, but don't go through until Carter gets there. She'll be a couple of minutes behind you. Daniel and I will be along shortly after her. Copy?"

"I understand," he responded.

"Oh, and Teal'c? Hurry," Jack said.

"I will," Teal'c answered. While he wondered what was going on, he felt it wasn't the time to ask and he trusted O'Neill's judgment, so he simply began to run in the direction of the Stargate.

Sam walked up to Jack. "What are you thinking, sir?"

Jack sighed. "I'm thinking that our 'friends' the Goa'uld could either be coming back through the 'gate or are still here on this planet."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I meant to get this to you sooner, but life has been a bit crazy lately. Anyway, here is the second chapter!

Also, I wanna say thanks to Tara for being my beta for this story and for her encouragement. huggles!

Chapter 2

As Jack seemed to be trying to assess the situation they were in, Daniel looked down at the girl. He put one hand in hers and his other hand on the side of her face. "Hi," he said. "My name is Daniel. As Sam told you, we're friends. We're trying to help you. You need to help us too, though. We need to know if they - the ones that did this to your village - we need to know if they're coming back." She didn't respond in any way. "Look," he said gently, but firmly, "I know that you're probably very scared, but we really need to know. . . . Heh, I guess I don't even know if you can understand what I'm saying." At that her eyes moved to look into his. "So you do understand. . . ." Daniel tried asking her the question again, but got no further response.

ooOoo

"So you want me to go after Teal'c, sir?" Sam asked as she started to pass by Jack.

"Uh, yeah," he said, grabbing her arm. "In a sec." He pulled her with him outside the house. "You didn't . . . you know . . . sense anything about this girl that we need to worry about, did you?"

Sam stared at him for a moment. "No, sir," she said solemnly and then glanced back toward Daniel and the girl. "She seems to be just a young, human girl. A very scared, very young, human girl."

Jack looked somewhat relieved to hear this, but still seemed concerned. "Good," he said, looking at the ground now and shuffling his feet, obviously in thought.

"This situation actually reminds me a bit of Cassie and when we first found her."

"Yeah, me too, which is one reason I'm worried," Jack admitted as he looked back up at her.

"Sir?"

"I'm trying to assess our situation, Carter. If this is at all like the situation with Cassie, it could be a trick. But if it isn't and those Jaffa are about ready to come back through the 'gate or are still here on this planet . . ." Jack now had a frown on his face. She nodded as she realized he was going to have to make a very tough decision. "Any thoughts?" he asked.

"Well, sir, none of us can say for sure at this point, of course, if this is a trick or not, but my best guess would be that it's not."

"OK then," Jack said, relieved to hear her give backing to what he was thinking.

"Sir, do you want me to . . . ?" Sam asked, pointing in the direction from which they had entered the village.

"Yeah. Send Teal'c through the 'gate when you get there and then shut it down. I want you to stay here . . . just in case Daniel and I need someone to dial home in a hurry or someone else tries to dial in. Have Teal'c tell Hammond that we're bringing a girl with us and that she needs medical attention."

Sam smiled a little in relief to see that he was going to let them take the girl home with them. "Yes, sir."

"And for now, Teal'c needs to stay away from her," Daniel said as he came up behind them. "Or at least wear a hat if he's going to be around her."

Jack and Sam looked at him in confusion. "Just until she's in a mental state to where she can understand he's a friend and not an enemy. I mean, to be blunt, he is Jaffa and Jaffa just ambushed her village," Daniel said. "Can you explain that to him, Sam?"

"Yeah, sure," she responded.

"Get going Carter," Jack ordered. "We'll be there soon. I'll let you know when we're getting close."

"Yes, sir," she said as she began running.

Turning to Daniel, Jack inquired, "So did you ask her?"

"If they're coming back?"

"No, what she had for breakfast," Jack spit back sarcastically. "Yes, if they're coming back."

"Yeah, um . . . she wouldn't answer me." Jack kicked at the pebbles by his feet in frustration. "But Jack, remember she's been traumatized. The good news is she looked me straight in the eyes this time, rather than only up at the ceiling."

"Meaning?" Jack asked.

"Meaning, I'm pretty sure she could understand what I was saying."

"But she wouldn't answer you?"

"No, but she's not in a very good state of mind right now." Daniel was frustrated that Jack just didn't seem to be getting it.

"Fine. Let's just get outta here," Jack said.

"Fine," Daniel shot back as he headed into the house.

When Daniel got to the bed he saw that the girl was tracing the mark on her arm. "Oh, no, no, no," he said, gently grabbing her wrist. "You're not going to die. You're going to be fine." She looked into his eyes, even more intently than she had the first time. "You're going to be fine," he said again to reassure her. He took the bandana off of his head and wrapped it around her arm, covering the symbol. "See? You're going to be just fine."

She continued to stare deeply into his eyes. "What's your name?" He wanted to see if he could get any response from her, but she just lied on the bed quietly, still staring at him. He stroked her cheek. "It's OK. You can tell me later."

"Daniel," Jack shouted from outside the home, "let's get a move on!"

"All right!" Daniel shouted back towards Jack, frustrated. "We're coming!" He looked back down at the girl. "Don't mind him. He's actually a nice guy, once you get to know him." He briefly smiled at her, but she just continued to stare at him with a blank look on her face.

Convinced that she probably wasn't going to want to walk, Daniel picked her up and held her in his arms. She was still staring into his eyes. "We're going to take you back to our home, OK? You'll be safe there, I promise."

"Daniel!" Jack started coming in the house after them to see what was taking them so long.

"OK, we're ready to go," Daniel said. "Can we try to keep the mood light, please?" he asked with an artificial smile on his face.

"Yeah, alright," Jack answered. "I just wanna leave this place. Let's go."

Daniel followed closely behind Jack. Suddenly, Jack stopped a few yards outside of the house and Daniel had to prevent himself from running smack into him.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"I thought I heard something."

"Like what?"

"Like footsteps."

Jack looked behind the village at the crest of a hill that was probably about 60 yards away. He now not only heard something, he saw something. He put his finger to his lips and pointed Daniel in the direction he was looking. They could see the tips of staff weapons coming up over the hill.

Daniel looked down at the girl. "You were trying to tell me they were coming back, weren't you?" he said quietly.

She just stared at him, now with tears welling up in her eyes.

Jack glanced angrily at Daniel for his late realization. Jack swore under his breath. He motioned Daniel to follow him.

The two men ran as quickly and quietly as they could through the village in the direction of the 'gate, trying to avoid tripping over all of the bodies. At one point Daniel glanced down at the girl. She was still staring at his face. For that, he was thankful. At least she wasn't looking at the bodies they were passing or at the danger behind them. However, by the look in her eyes he knew that she knew they were in danger.

They finally made it through the village and rounded the corner of the mountain. Daniel began to lose his balance a little and started to fall, but thankfully caught himself beforehand. Jack looked back and stopped running for a second. "You got her?"

"Yeah," Daniel said, a bit out of breath. "I'm fine."

They started running again. Jack looked at his watch.

"Carter? What's your position?" Jack radioed.

"I'm about half way to the 'gate, sir."

"Teal'c? You at the 'gate yet?" Jack asked.

"It is in my sight."

Jack thought for a moment as he ran, although not as fast as he could because of Daniel not being able to go at top speed.

"OK," Jack said through the radio, "Here's the situation. The Jaffa are still here. We were about 60 yards from them when they first came into sight. As far as I know they didn't see us –"

"Jack!" Daniel yelped as he fell on his knees. He had lost his balance completely this time. He was also getting tired. This business of running through the forest wearing a backpack, carrying 65 extra pounds of precious cargo, trying to dodge tree trunks, and jumping over roots was tough.

Jack stopped. "Hang on a sec," he radioed to the others. He turned in Daniel's direction. "OK, Daniel. We should take cover now anyway," Jack said as he looked around. "Let's go behind those bushes." Jack pointed to where he wanted to go and then went over to Daniel and took the girl into his arms to give him a break. "You gonna make it?"

"Yeah," Daniel said, out of breath. "Thanks."

Once they got behind the bushes, they saw what appeared to be the dried up bed of what used to contain a stream a few feet from the bushes. "Get down in there and stay down," Jack ordered as he handed the girl back to Daniel.

ooOoo

Daniel and the girl got settled in their hiding place. He sat her next to him on his left and then took off his backpack, setting it in front of him. She stopped staring at his face now. She slowly looked at his left hand and grabbed it with her right. He looked down at her and she looked back up at his face. He smiled, hoping that she would smile back, but she didn't. She looked frightened now. He squeezed her hand.

ooOoo

Jack ducked down behind the bushes and got back on his radio. "When you get to the 'gate, Teal'c, still dial home, but go on through right away and take the MALP with you. Have them shut the 'gate down immediately. The rest of us are gonna have to hide out until the Jaffa have gone through the 'gate. Tell Hammond the situation at the village and that we found one survivor – a girl. Tell him she will need medical attention." Jack looked down at Daniel, who was now looking up at him. Jack knew what he was thinking. "And Teal'c . . . the girl probably won't be able to understand at first that you're a friendly, so wear a hat when you're around her. OK?"

"I understand," Teal'c answered. "I am now at the DHD."

"Good," Jack replied.

"Where are you, sir?" Sam inquired.

"We're not far from the corner of the mountain. Carter, can you see the 'gate from where you are?"

"Not completely clearly yet because of all the trees, sir, but I think . . . yeah, I can tell that Teal'c has just dialed home."

"Good. Find a place to take cover for a while. We'll need to maintain radio silence until they're by us. I'll let you know when they've passed us so you can be ready. O'Neill out."

"Yes, sir. Carter out."

ooOoo

"It's SG-1's code, sir," Sergeant Davis said to General Hammond in the control room of the SGC.

"They left less than two hours ago," Hammond said with confusion. "Open the iris."

After the iris opened, Teal'c came through the 'gate with the MALP. "Disengage the gate immediately!" he shouted.

Hammond looked at Teal'c and then at Davis. "Do it," he said.

Hammond raced out of the control room down into the embarkation room. "What's going on, Teal'c? Where are the others?"

"They are unharmed at the moment."

"At the moment?"

"Approximately one mile from the 'gate, we came upon a village whose population had been attacked by Jaffa. Only Daniel Jackson found a survivor. She apparently requires medical attention. Soon after finding her, Colonel O'Neill ordered me to come back to Earth. Major Carter was no more than two minutes behind me in returning to the 'gate. O'Neill and Daniel Jackson were following a few minutes behind her with the girl. However, the Jaffa were apparently still on the planet and the others had to hide from them. At this moment the Jaffa are headed toward the 'gate. Once they are through the others will come back to Earth with the survivor."

"Do you know how many Jaffa there are?" Hammond asked with concern.

"After walking through the village, I would say there were approximately 40 of them."

Hammond sighed. "All right, Teal'c. But, if we don't hear from them within an hour we'll send the MALP back through and figure out what our options are from there."

Teal'c nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jack dropped down next to Daniel and took off his pack. "How we doin'?" he asked Daniel, but looked at the girl.

"I think we're pretty scared at the moment," Daniel said, squeezing her hand again.

"Well, we just need to stay quiet," Jack said putting his finger to his lips, still looking at the young child.

The girl appeared even more frightened now.

"Everything's going to be fine," Daniel reassured her in a soft voice.

"Yeah," Jack whispered to her, "You know, you should listen to Daniel. He's a pretty smart guy." Daniel looked at him with some surprise. Perhaps that was his way of apologizing for treating Daniel the way he had earlier.

Jack listened carefully to what was going on above them and then put his finger to his lips again. They could hear footsteps.

Daniel looked back down at the girl once he realized she was beginning to move. She had started rocking back and forth. Daniel wasn't sure what was going on. As the footsteps got closer and louder she took both of her hands, leaving Daniel's hand empty, and placed them firmly over her ears.

Daniel tapped Jack on the arm and pointed to her. Jack looked at the girl and then at Daniel with raised eyebrows. Daniel, looking back at her, slowly put his arm around her, hoping to give her some comfort. She was still rocking, but not quite as rapidly now.

Once the Jaffa had all passed by and Jack couldn't hear their footsteps any longer, he signaled to Daniel and the girl to still keep quiet as he silently pulled himself up back by the bushes. He peered through and saw the last of the Jaffa in the distance. When they were out of sight, he radioed Sam in a low voice. "Carter, they just passed out of sight here. I'd guess there's about 40 of them. Once they pass you and are through the 'gate, let us know. We'll slowly make our way toward the 'gate, maintaining radio silence until we hear from you. O'Neill out."

"Copy that, sir. Carter out."

Daniel looked at Jack. "We're going to move from our hiding spot?"

"Yeah. This stream bed goes in the general direction of the 'gate. We'll just walk slowly - and quietly - down it until we hear from Carter," Jack said as he jumped back down next to Daniel. "If she gets in trouble, I don't want to be far behind."

"Ahh," Daniel replied. He then looked back at the girl who was still rocking slightly with ears covered. He gently pulled her hands down. "It's OK now. They're gone." She looked deeply into his eyes as she had before. "You're going to be fine. We'll be home soon." She looked somewhat consoled. "Can you walk? Or do you need me to carry you again?" She thought for a moment. She then slowly stood up and reached for his hand. "Good," he said, smiling in relief. He and Jack put on their backpacks. Daniel took the girl's hand in his and said, "We still need to be quiet, though." He figured at this rate she wasn't going to make any noise, but it couldn't hurt to let her know the situation, just in case.

"Let's go," Jack ordered softly.

ooOoo

Sam was slumped down behind some thick bushes when the Jaffa walked by her. Thankfully they seemed totally oblivious to her presence. Once they went through the 'gate, Sam let out a big sigh of relief. She got on her radio. "They're gone, sir."

ooOoo

"Sweet," Jack returned. "We're about a third of a mile away from the 'gate now. We'll meet you there."

"Yes, sir."

Jack, Daniel, and the girl climbed out of the stream bed and got back on the original path to the 'gate.

"Let's pick up the pace." Jack said.

Daniel did so, making sure the girl was all right walking at a faster speed. She had her hand in his again. "So," he began, "do you feel like telling me your name yet?"

The girl just walked, keeping up with the men, but did nothing else other than stare straight ahead.

Jack glanced at her. "I don't think she feels like talking yet."

"I guess not," Daniel said as he watched her with concern written on his face.

ooOoo

The three of them met up with Sam at the Stargate, dialed home, and sent their remote code through. Sam was happy to see the girl was at least willing and able to walk.

The girl was confused and frightened as she looked at the event horizon of the wormhole. She held Daniel's hand with both of hers now as they stood looking at the 'gate.

Daniel knelt down next to her to look her straight in the eyes. "It's OK," he said, hoping to reassure her. "Our home is just through there. I know it looks kinda scary, but it's not." He tried to figure out from the look on her face if she understood.

The girl stared at the 'gate for a moment and then looked back at Daniel. She didn't seem convinced that it was safe.

Jack motioned for Sam to go on through the 'gate, and she did. He then walked over to Daniel and the girl. He leaned down by them so he could look the girl in the face. "Hey," he said quietly. "You can trust us. . . . I'm Jack, by the way."

She just looked blankly at him.

"Come on," said Jack, "It's actually kinda fun." He held out his hand for her to take. "It only takes a few seconds. And Daniel and I will be with you the whole time." He stood up straight, hand still outstretched toward her.

The girl looked up at Jack with a curious face. Daniel stood up, taking only one of her hands in his and motioned for her to take Jack's hand. She slowly did so.

"OK," said Daniel as they walked toward the 'gate. They paused at the event horizon. "Ready?" he asked her. She looked at him with doubt, but nodded slowly. "Here we go," he said as they walked into the wormhole.

ooOoo

Sam came through the 'gate at home. General Hammond was right there waiting near the bottom of the ramp. Teal'c was there too with one of his hats on, covering the gold emblem on his forehead. The medical team was also there, ready to go.

"Where are the Colonel and Dr. Jackson?" Hammond asked.

"They're right behind me, sir," she said as she walked down the ramp towards the General. "They were trying to reassure the girl we found that it was safe to go through the 'gate. She looked pretty scared."

A few seconds later the trio came through the Stargate.

"See?" Daniel said to the girl. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

Jack let go of the girl's hand and walked toward Hammond. "I assume Teal'c filled you in, sir?"

"Yes he did, Colonel. Now, what about this little girl?" Hammond replied, glancing over at her. She had the hand that had held Jack's on her stomach now as she and Daniel were making their way down the ramp.

"Well, sir, Daniel hasn't been able to get anything out of her –"

Just then the child let go of Daniel's hand and threw up on the ground at the end of the ramp.

Daniel bit his lower lip and looked up at the General apologetically.

Jack turned to look at the mess on the floor and then back at Hammond. "Uh . . . let me rephrase that, sir . . ."

Dr. Fraiser rushed up to the girl to take a look at her. The girl quickly stepped back from her.

"It's OK," said Daniel. "She's a friend. She just wants to make you feel better."

"That's right," said Janet, seeing the fear in the girl's eyes. "I'm Dr. Fraiser."

Janet turned to one of the medics and asked for a cloth. The medic tossed one to her. She began wiping off the girl's face. The girl recoiled back and hid behind Daniel. She was obviously overwhelmed by all that was happening around her. She was breathing heavily and rapidly.

Daniel turned around and knelt in front of her, avoiding the mess on the ground. "I know you're scared, but you're safe here. You have to trust -" Just then the girl looked as though she was going to faint. Daniel caught her as her body went limp. "Janet!"

"All right, pick her up," she ordered Daniel. "Let's get her to the infirmary, stat!"

Daniel did as she had asked and ran with Janet and the medics toward the infirmary.

The others stared from the embarkation room as they hurried away.

Hammond looked at the other three members of SG-1 and said, "Debriefing in one hour." He then began walking toward the infirmary.

"Yes, sir," Jack said.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. RL has gotten in the way. Go figure.

Chapter 4

Daniel watched helplessly from the doorway of the infirmary as the medics surrounded the girl and checked her vital signs. Once Janet was satisfied that she was stable, the rest of the medical staff dispersed.

Hammond came up behind Daniel and stood next to him. "What happened to her out there, Doctor?"

"We don't know exactly, General. All I know is that she is very lucky," Daniel said.

"She was the only survivor, correct?"

Daniel sighed with regret. "Yes."

"Daniel," Janet said from beside the girl's bed, "Can you tell me anything about these cuts on her arm? They almost seem like they form a symbol of some sort."

"They do," Daniel answered as he and Hammond walked up to the bed and stood on the side opposite Janet. "What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"Uh, well," Janet said as she tried to figure out why Daniel seemed to be avoiding her question, "she's unconscious right now, but she's stable. I don't think she's in any pain. As far as I can tell, she just passed out from being so overwhelmed – probably a panic attack. . . . You were saying the cuts do form a symbol?"

"Not in any pain . . ." he muttered softly. "Yes, they form a symbol," he said flatly. "She marked herself for dead."

Hammond and Janet looked at each other in concern.

"Well, the cuts will heal in time. They are a bit infected at the moment, but that should clear up soon," Janet explained.

Daniel rolled his eye a bit. "Heal in time . . ." he muttered, running his hand through his hair.

"Dr. Jackson," Hammond said, "are you alright?"

"Sure," he replied. "Why shouldn't I be?"

Hammond looked at Janet, obviously not convinced by Daniel's answer.

"There will be a debriefing of the mission in 45 minutes," he reported to Daniel. "Keep me updated on her condition," he said to Janet as he left.

"Yes, sir," she answered.

Daniel moved to the spot next to the bed where Hammond had been standing and stared down at the girl.

"Daniel? Are you sure you're OK?" Janet said with concern.

"Yes, I'm fine." His eyes didn't move from the girl.

The truth was that Daniel wasn't 'fine.' He was caught up in how lonely the girl must have felt. And he knew a thing or two about feeling lonely.

Janet watched him for a moment. "All right." She still wasn't convinced.

Janet started walking away. Just then the girl opened her eyes and sat up quickly in the bed.

"Whoa," Janet said to her, quickly coming back to the bed, "Take it easy."

Daniel put his hand on the girl's shoulder. She began to get very dizzy, so she lied back down.

"It's all right," Daniel consoled her. "You're safe."

The girl looked at him straight in the eyes, just as she had done before. She seemed to be almost pleading with him. She grabbed onto the sheets that were covering the trunk of her body. Her knuckles turned white from how tightly she was holding her fists. Her eyes began to tear up.

Daniel looked up at Janet. "Can we have a minute?"

"Sure," Janet said. "But then we need to do the standard medical tests on her."

"OK," he said as she walked away.

He looked back down at the girl and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "I know," he said with understanding.

After a moment, the girl, still having a tight grip on the sheets, began to rock violently back and forth, causing the bed to shake.

He tried to calm her down, but it didn't work. "Uh . . ." Daniel said, wondering if he should call Janet back.

The girl began to thrash around, as if out of control.

"Janet!" Daniel called out. "Someone! Help!"

Janet and a couple of nurses rushed over to the bed.

"What happened?" Janet asked Daniel as she tried to settle the girl down.

"I - I don't know. She just started . . . I don't know."

The girl was still thrashing around in the bed, now moaning and groaning.

"OK, get a sedative," Janet ordered one of the nurses.

Once they gave her the medicine and it began to calm her down, Janet faced Daniel. "Did she act like this at all at any other time you were with her?"

"No. Quite the opposite actually. She was very quiet. Although, she did start rocking back and forth with her hands covering her ears when the Jaffa were walking by while we were taking cover. Other than that she was completely calm. Scared, but calm."

"OK. Did you actually see her make those cuts in her arm?"

"No."

"But you're sure they're self-inflicted?"

"Yes. Why?" he asked warily.

Janet sighed. "Let's just say we need to keep a very close watch on her."

Daniel thought he could see where this was going and it upset him. He sighed. "All right."

ooOoo

SG-1's debriefing was fairly short and simple since they really didn't know exactly what had happened on the planet. However, at the end of the meeting, General Hammond brought up what Daniel knew eventually had to be discussed, but had hoped could be avoided for a while.

"Dr. Jackson, do you think you can find out more about what happened to this girl's village before you arrived there?"

"Uh, I can try, sir. But I'm not sure if Dr. Fraiser would approve under the circumstances. This girl is under a lot of emotional stress."

"I'll speak with Dr. Fraiser regarding this matter. I'll get you permission to question her as soon as possible."

'Question her?' he thought. 'Well, isn't that a nice way of putting it. Yes, that's just what this traumatized little girl needs to be a part of: an interrogation.'

"General, with all do respect -" Daniel began to say.

"Doctor, I know that she has been through a lot. But we don't even know exactly what 'a lot' entails. Yes, we know there was an ambush, but we don't know why or by which goa'uld. We need to know for security reasons what was happening on that planet. And frankly, I'd rather you be the one asking the questions rather than Dr. MacKenzie, if you catch my drift."

After hearing this, Daniel decided that he really didn't have much of a choice. "All right, sir. I'll do my best. It'll take time though. This isn't something to be rushed into."

"I understand. Thank you, Doctor."

ooOoo

After the debriefing, Daniel went back to the infirmary. Janet was coming out to meet him a few feet outside the door.

"How is she?" he asked.

"She's sleeping. She shouldn't be disturbed now. Let her rest," Janet said, obviously not wanting Daniel to go into the infirmary.

"I don't want to disturb her, Janet. I just want to see her. I won't make a peep." He began to pass her, but she moved back in front of him.

"Daniel, let her sleep," she insisted.

"Janet? What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"She's fine. All the tests came back normal. Just let her sleep."

Jack came up to them. He had overheard the conversation from down the hall.

"Oh for cryin' out loud! Let the man look in on her. What's the harm?" Jack took Daniel's arm and they both pushed their way past Janet.

"Colonel!" Janet yelled after him, but it did no good.

When Jack and Daniel got into the infirmary, they didn't see the girl. Janet walked up next to them.

"Janet?" Daniel stared at her. His emotions were a mix between frustration and worry.

"Where is she?" Jack asked looking around the room.

Janet sighed and then blinked hard. She turned to face Daniel. "She's in medical isolation room one."

"Why?" he asked with a twinge of anger. This is what Daniel had feared would happen.

"Easy big fella," Jack said to Daniel as he patted him on the shoulder. "Janet, would you like to explain what's going on here, please?"

"I knew that you wouldn't be happy about this, Daniel. I just wanted to give the girl some time to rest before dealing with this situation. I'm sorry," Janet replied.

"Well, you're right. I'm not happy." Daniel began to storm out of the infirmary and down the hall. Janet had crossed the line in his mind. She put a lonely, scared, little girl in a room all by herself because she thought that she needed to be observed in case she went 'crazy' again. "Did you strap her to the bed too?" he yelled over his shoulder. He continued to walk purposefully to the observation deck of the medical isolation room without waiting for an answer.

Jack looked at Janet with a questioning face.

"Colonel, this girl is disturbed. She's seen something horrific and it's taking its toll on her. She needs to be watched very carefully."

"All right, Janet," Jack replied.

Jack and Janet went after Daniel.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Daniel stood in the observation deck looking through the window, watching the girl. She was lying on a bed, hooked up to an IV. She did appear to be asleep; still being pumped with a sedative, Daniel assumed. Fortunately, she at least didn't have any restraints on her.

Daniel desperately wanted to go stand by her side, but they only allowed medical professionals into the room unless otherwise authorized.

'Well,' Daniel thought, 'I'll be getting permission soon... so I can interrogate her.' He shook his head in frustration.

Jack and Janet came into the observation deck.

"General Hammond wants me to question her," Daniel said dryly. He turned to look at Janet. "And he wants me to do it as soon as possible."

"Well, she's in no condition for that," Janet replied.

Daniel looked back through the window. "Tell that to Hammond," he said in a low, soft voice.

"Look," Jack said after a moment of silence, "this girl has been through Hell and back – I understand that - but the General is right. We do need to know what happened. And she's the only one who can tell us."

Janet sighed. "I'll go have a talk with the General. Wait here until I get back."

ooOoo

Twenty minutes later, Hammond, Sam, and Teal'c (with one of his many hats on) joined Daniel and Jack in the observation deck.

"You've got clearance to go into the isolation room, Dr. Jackson," Hammond reported.

Just then, they all watched as Janet entered the isolation room. She took the girl off the sedative. As she left the room, she gave a look to the General that said, 'This really goes against my best judgment.' When she got to the door to the room, she said something quietly to the guards.

"I have one condition, General," Daniel said.

"What's that?"

"That the bed be turned so she'll be looking away from the window. I know she won't answer any questions if she knows she's got a bunch of people staring at her. I seem to be the only one she trusts right now."

"Fair enough."

"Thank you, sir."

ooOoo

After the bed had been turned the way he had asked, Daniel entered the isolation room. He stood next to the bed, looking down at the girl. She was just barely starting to stir from her drug-induced sleep.

He grabbed the stool that had been put in the room for him, put it next to the bed, and sat down. He decided it would be better to wait for her to awake on her own rather than forcibly wake her so he just sat quietly.

After several minutes, the girl began to open her eyes. She blinked several times as her surroundings came into focus.

"Hey there," Daniel said gently, so as not to scare her. "It's Daniel."

She turned her head toward him.

"Hey," he said, "remember me?"

She slowly nodded, although she seemed confused at her surroundings.

"Don't be afraid. You're safe here. I promise."

By the look on her face, she didn't seem convinced. She glanced around the room anxiously.

"We're in a different room than before," Daniel explained.

The girl looked at him and nodded again.

"You're on a planet called Earth. It's the planet where I live," he said.

She nodded slightly.

"So, we've known each other for a few hours now and I still don't know your name," he said.

The girl swallowed hard.

Daniel put his hand on hers. "You're still pretty scared, aren't you?"

She nodded and took his hand.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

She looked deep into his eyes. Daniel looked at her with compassion.

"Ye... yes," she finally said.

He sighed with relief. "Good."

They looked into each other's eyes silently for a moment.

"Can you tell me your name, now?" he asked.

She swallowed again. "M . . . M . . ." she stuttered.

"It's OK. Take your time," he said.

"M . . . Maylin," she said.

"Maylin. That's a beautiful name," he responded.

She managed to smile a little at the compliment and he smiled back.

ooOoo

Jack, Sam, Teal'c, Hammond, and Janet were all in the observation deck watching the conversation between Daniel and Maylin.

"Well," said Hammond, "It's a start. Let me know what happens."

"Yes, sir," Janet responded as Hammond left the room.

ooOoo

"Maylin, do you remember when my friends and I found you yesterday?" Daniel asked.

The girl grimaced a bit at this question.

"I know you probably don't want to think about it."

She slowly shook her head no.

"OK. You don't have to tell me what happened. Just tell me if you remember."

She closed her eyes for a moment, grimacing again. Daniel let her be in her own thoughts. He squeezed her hand a little to remind her he was still there with her. She opened her eyes, looked at Daniel, and nodded.

"OK," he said, not wanting to push her too hard.

She closed her eyes again, with her face still towards Daniel.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

She opened her eyes and shook her head no.

"OK. How do you feel otherwise? Does anything hurt?"

She shook her head.

"Good."

He decided to try to dig a little deeper now. "Maylin? Do you remember what happened before my friends and I found you? Again, you don't need to tell me what happened. Just tell me if you remember or not."

She closed her eyes and turned her face toward the ceiling. She grimaced and moaned a little.

"It's OK, it's OK," he said. He squeezed her hand again.

She began shaking some. She let go of Daniel's hand and grabbed hold of the bed sheets like she had done before.

Daniel looked back at the guards at the door. They looked like they were about ready to come over and tackle her at any second.

Daniel put his hand up for them to stay back. "It's OK," he told them.

He looked back at Maylin. She was still hanging on tight to the sheets, knuckles white. He stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. "Maylin. Maylin, you're safe here, remember?"

She opened her eyes. She looked very angry now. She let go of the sheets and sat up, pushing Daniel away. The guards started running over to them.

"NO!" he yelled back at them, putting his hand up again. They stopped dead in their tracks, not expecting this from Daniel. "She's fine. Just - just let us be."

The guards looked at each other.

"Everything's fine," Daniel assured them.

They finally backed away.

"Thank you. I'll call you if I need help, all right? How's that?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but we were ordered by Dr. Fraiser to –"

"If this is going to work..." Daniel said in a firm voice, then changing from looking at the guards to looking at the window to the observation deck, "If I'm to question her, I need to have some say in how this is done. All right?"

ooOoo

Janet watched Daniel as he made his demand.

"Make sense to me, Doc," Jack said.

Janet sighed. "If this patient were more than just a little girl . . ."

"But she isn't," Sam said. "Cut Daniel some slack, Janet. I think he can handle her."

Janet gave in. "All right." She took a hold of the microphone and spoke through it to the guards. "Airmen, stand down unless otherwise told by Dr. Jackson. Got that?"

ooOoo

"Yes, ma'am," one of the guards answered. They went back to the doorway.

"Thank you," Daniel said to Janet through the window.

Daniel now looked back at Maylin. She was banging her fists on the bed. She was also looking at the bandage that covered the marks she had made on her arm, and yet her eyes seemed as though they weren't actually seeing anything.

Daniel put his hand on her shoulder, but she pushed his arm away.

"Maylin," he softly beckoned her. "It's Daniel, Maylin. You're safe." He put his hand back on her shoulder. She turned toward him, knocking his arm away. Then she put her hands in fists and began beating against his chest.

Daniel looked back toward the guards. "I'm OK," he told them. He knew they were ready to sprint over at any second.

"Maylin?" he said. She was enraged, staring at his chest as she continued to beat her fists against it. She could hit pretty hard, but Daniel was determined to get through this. He grabbed her wrists. "Maylin," he said firmly, looking into her eyes.

She fought against him, staring into his big blue eyes for several minutes. Her face slowly began to change. It went from total rage to complete sorrow. She stopped trying to fight him. He slowly loosened his grip on her wrists as her head fell on his chest. As she leaned on him, she began to sob. Daniel put his arms around her. "It's OK," he said in a soothing voice. "You're safe now." As he hugged the girl, he briefly made eye contact with Janet.

She began to sob even harder. "Shhh," he said, resting his chin on the top of her head and closing his eyes. "You're safe now."

ooOoo

Jack, Janet, Sam, and Teal'c stared at the scene in front of them.

"Wow," Sam said, a lump in her throat.

Jack, who had been leaning forward in his seat with elbows resting on his knees, now sat back in his chair. "Yeah," he agreed.

ooOoo

Maylin sobbed for several minutes and Daniel held her the entire time. When she began to calm down, she lifted her head and looked up at him with tears running down her cheeks.

Daniel gently brushed the hair out of her face and wiped her tears away with his hand. He then cradled her chin with his finger. "Do you feel better?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Good," he said. "I'm sorry this is so hard."

She began to lie back down on the bed.

"Tired," she said, obviously emotionally drained.

"All right," he said with understanding. "You get some rest then."

"Stay?" she asked as her eyes were becoming droopy.

"I'll stay with you until you fall asleep."

She reached for his hand. Daniel gave it to her as he sat back down on the stool.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Daniel walked down the hallway after coming out of the medical isolation room. He had taken his glasses off and was rubbing his face. He was almost as emotionally drained as Maylin. He had had to keep himself from tearing up while he was comforting her. She needed someone to be strong for her, not cry with her, he figured.

Jack, Sam, Teal'c, and Janet joined Daniel in the hall. Jack, walking next to Daniel, patted him on the shoulder. Daniel looked at him as he put his glasses back on.

"Nice work, Doctor," Jack told him with a slight grin on his face and, amazingly, no sarcasm in his voice.

Daniel shrugged.

Sam put her hand on his other shoulder. "You were amazing. Really."

Daniel shrugged again and then walked away from the others, leaving them feeling confused and concerned for their friend.

ooOoo

Daniel was in the commissary with a tray of food – a late lunch. As he sat there, thoughts, feelings, and memories were flashing unbidden through his mind: the tragic and sudden death of his parents that happened right in front of his face when he was only eight; the rejection he felt when his grandfather wouldn't adopt him and as he was shuffled from foster home to foster home; the frustration and disappointment of being the laughing stock of the academic world as his theories had been counted as trash ('If they only knew!' he thought.); the heartache of having two loves, Sha're and Sarah, taken as hosts by Goa'ulds; the immense sorrow he felt after the death of Sha're.

Alone. He felt so utterly alone.

Daniel had had a lot of tragedies occur in his life, but they were spread out through time. To have everyone you knew and cared about be killed right in front of you all at once, though - that had to be a hundred times worse.

An image of the girl scared and alone in the isolation room came next to Daniel's mind. Although he knew loneliness, he also knew that he still couldn't fathom what Maylin had been through.

Jack, Sam, and Teal'c, sensing that something was wrong with their teammate, brought their lunch trays over to Daniel's table and sat with him. Jack sat next to him. Sam sat across from Daniel. Teal'c sat next to her and across from Jack.

Daniel didn't even look up from his plate. He appeared to be playing with his food rather than eating it.

"So . . . isn't exactly filet mignon, is it?" Jack said as he watched Daniel move the food around on his plate with a fork.

Daniel sighed, still feeling drained from that morning. "No, it isn't."

Daniel put the fork down on the plate and started to get up from his seat.

"Whoa there, Danny-boy," Jack said as he put his hand on Daniel's arm and pulled him back down. "Why don't you stay a while? Eat. Drink. Be merry. That kinda thing."

"No, I think I should get going - go check on Maylin." Daniel began to get up again.

Jack grabbed Daniel's arm and pulled him down again but with more force this time. "OK, let me rephrase that. I'm ordering you to stay."

Daniel slumped down in his seat, looking at his hands as they rested in his lap.

"Daniel, are you all right?" Sam inquired.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Daniel asked, looking up at Sam.

"Maybe because we can tell that you're not all right?" she said.

Daniel sighed and looked back down at his hands. "I'm just tired, is all."

"Oh for cryin' out loud, Daniel! I've seen you after you've been awake for over 48 hours and you looked better then than you do now," Jack said.

Daniel looked around the table at each of his teammates, first at Teal'c. The Jaffa sat watching Daniel with one eyebrow raised. He was obviously worried about him as everybody else seemed to be. Boy, Daniel and Teal'c had sure been through a lot together. They had helped each other when needed most during the past several years, not to mention saved each other's lives multiple times. Their friendship had also been tested with events surrounding Sha're, but they still managed to be as close as ever now.

Next, there was Sam. She looked at Daniel, also with a concerned face. He really admired her. She was brilliant and beautiful. She was also a soldier, and a darn good one at that; tougher than a lot of men Daniel had seen. She had gotten them out of some pretty sticky situations in the past. She was also compassionate and always willing to lend a hand.

And then there was Jack - always ready with a smart-aleck remark, but he was also there to back Daniel up when needed. He was Daniel's best friend. Sure, they had had their share of disagreements - on pretty much any and every topic - but Jack had never failed to be there for Daniel when he needed it the most.

These were his closest friends. And yet they were more than that.

Daniel looked back down at his hands and a smile crept over his face. He slowly shook his head.

"What?" Jack asked.

"I was just thinking about . . . well, about the past." Daniel began to look more serious now. "It's funny. I never felt like I - like I belonged anywhere. Like I never fit." Daniel paused for a moment. "I always felt so - so alone. And now, I realize . . ." Daniel felt a lump in his throat as he tried to express to his friends how much they meant to him. He had never verbally expressed it to all three of them at once before and somehow it seemed poignant to do it now.

"What, Daniel?" Sam asked.

"I realize that I'm sitting here with - with my family." It was a simple and succinct way of putting it, Daniel thought. He hoped they all would read between the lines and interpret the many silent words behind his statement.

The other three members of SG-1 looked at each other and began to smile, including Teal'c.

Jack patted Daniel on the back. "I'm glad you finally see that, Danny."

Daniel looked back up at them and smiled.

ooOoo

Daniel was back in the medical isolation room. He had a lunch tray with him so Maylin could have something to eat. He was only allowed to bring in finger food, though: a sandwich and potato chips. There was still the worry that she might try to hurt herself or someone else, so giving her even so much as a spoon was considered too 'dangerous.' Daniel, of course, thought that was ridiculous.

Daniel approached the bed. "Maylin," he said, trying to gently wake her.

She stirred and opened her eyes.

"Hi," he said.

She stared blankly at him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"I brought you some food."

She looked at the tray he held for a few seconds. She then sat up.

Daniel sat on the stool next to her bed and put the tray on her lap. As she ate, the girl seemed to like the food, but didn't seem too hungry. 'Depression is setting in,' he thought.

When she got to the point of refusing to eat any more, Daniel asked one of the guards to take the tray away.

Now it was time to get back to the 'questioning,' unfortunately.

"Maylin, I know this is hard for you," he said as he took her hand, "but I need to ask you one more question. It's a tough one, too, I'm afraid."

She looked at him with some fear in her eyes now as she lay back down on the bed.

"I know that you remember what happened yesterday before my friends and I found you. Can you try and tell me what you remember?"

Maylin paused. "W - Why?" she asked with a stutter.

Daniel thought for a second about how he should explain this to her. "Well, we don't want anyone else to be hurt by the ones that attacked your village. What you remember might help my people fight against them so they don't do that to anyone else."

Sadness overtook Maylin's face. "It - it wasn't just our village," she said, trying not to cry.

"What do you mean?"

"I heard them," she said, starting to sniffle.

"You heard them." Daniel processed what the girl was saying. "And what did they say?"

Tears began to stream down Maylin's face.

"It's OK," Daniel consoled, as he squeezed her hand. "Take your time."

She lied there for a long time, staring at the ceiling. Tears were still running down her cheeks and sweat formed on her brow. There was a cloth nearby. Daniel took it, wiped off her face, and then put it back in its original position. He rubbed her hand with his thumb.

Daniel hated this. He knew that he needed to get this information, but it was so hard to watch this little girl suffer so much to relive her memories.

"Take your time," he said again.

After a few more minutes, Maylin slowly began to speak, telling Daniel of the events that she had witnessed.

FLASHBACK BEGINS 

Maylin is playing catch with her older brother outside their home. He throws the ball too far by accident and Maylin goes after it. She accidentally kicks it hard, straight back into the woods. She looks back at her brother. "Go get it," he tells her.

She begins walking through the woods, bent down in search of the ball.

Suddenly, after walking a few yards into the forest, she hears something foreign to her. It sounds like some kind of weapon. She gets down on all fours, looking toward the noise. She begins to hear the sound again and again. Then she begins to see flashes of light along with the noise. She also begins to hear and then see people panicking and groaning in pain. She slowly moves backward a few feet, not knowing what to do.

The sound of the weapons gets louder and louder; the flashes get brighter and bigger; the panic in the village builds. She looks over at her own house. She sees her brother, mother, and father staring in horror at what they see coming.

FLASHBACK ENDS 

"NO!" Maylin screamed with her eyes shut tight. She squeezed Daniel's hand hard as her back began to arch.

"Maylin," Daniel said loudly, now standing up. "Maylin, it's OK. You're OK. You're safe, remember? Open your eyes. Remember where you are. It's just a memory. It's just a memory."

Maylin opened her eyes and looked into Daniel's. Her back flattened out and she loosened her grip on his hand. She breathed hard, though, tears falling down her face again.

Daniel decided that was enough for now. He didn't want to push her over the edge. "All right. You don't have to tell me any more for now," he said as he stroked his hand on her cheeks, wiping off the tears. "I'm so sorry."

Another lump began to form in his throat. A tear escaped one of his eyes and ran down his face. "I'm so sorry," he said again.

ooOoo

Being emotionally drained, once again, Maylin had wanted to take another nap. Daniel had agreed this was a good idea and, as before, sat with her until she fell asleep.

Sam, who had been watching their last interaction from the observation deck, walked down to the entrance of the isolation room.

Daniel, satisfied that Maylin was fast asleep, joined Sam in the hall.

"Hey," Sam said.

"Hey, Sam," he replied.

They walked a little ways down the hall so as not to wake up Maylin.

"How are you doin'?" Sam asked as they walked.

"Me? I'm fine."

"Daniel, I know this can't be easy on you. I mean, you obviously feel deeply for Maylin and her situation - seeing that you've both lost a lot of people in your lives."

Daniel shrugged.

"Look, just know that if you ever want to talk - about anything - you can talk to me. OK?"

Daniel looked at his friend with sincere gratitude. "Thanks, Sam. That means a lot."

"Hey, we're family, right?"

Daniel smiled.

"It's good to see you smile, especially under the circumstances," Sam noted as she smiled back.

"I only wish Maylin had reason to smile. I wish she had her family."

That gave Sam an idea just as Daniel began to frown.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"I just realized something."

"What?"

"Maylin's family. She mentioned having a brother, father, and mother."

"Yeah. So?"

Daniel stopped walking and faced Sam as she stood still as well. "When I was walking around Maylin's house, checking to see if anyone was still alive, all I found were two males: a boy, probably her brother, and a man, probably her father. But I didn't see a woman."

"What are you saying, Daniel?"

"There's no way to prove this yet, but I think the Jaffa may have taken Maylin's mother to be used as a host."

"But you're right, there's no way to prove that."

"Not at the moment, but if you think about it, it makes sense. Maylin's a pretty little girl, and if she got her looks from her mother . . ." Daniel sighed and rubbed his face. "I'll have to ask her about it."

Sam sighed and nodded in agreement.


	7. Chapter 7

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated the story. RL has done it's best to overwhelm me. To make up for it, I've uploaded the last 2 chapters of the story. I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think, please.

Chapter 7

A couple of hours later, Daniel went back to the medical isolation room. Maylin had just woken from her nap and was sitting up in the bed.

"Hey," he said to her.

"I don't want to answer any more questions," she said.

Daniel sighed. "I know. I wish I didn't need to ask you anything more, but I do."

"No," she said shaking her head.

"Maylin, what I need to know is very important. I know that it's hard for you to think about your memories - believe me, I know - but, please. I have just two more questions. That's it. No more."

She looked down at her hands that were in her lap. She looked very emotionally drained. "I don't want to."

"I know. I know." Daniel took one of her hands. "But please, just try."

She looked up at him.

"Please," he said.

She looked back down. She wondered if they were going to keep her in this room forever and if they were going to keep torturing her with her memories.

"What do you want to know?" she asked with reluctance. Daniel could tell she was definitely depressed.

"OK. I need to know what happened after you saw the Jaffa - that's the name of the ones who attacked your village. After they attacked, what happened?"

Maylin sighed and then began to answer.

FLASHBACK BEGINS 

Maylin was now hiding in the bottom part of a tree that was partially hallowed out. She couldn't move even if she wanted to because of fear and shock. She could only listen to what was happening around her.

The Jaffa had been looking around the outskirts of the woods nearby, not too far from Maylin, but far enough away that she couldn't make out what symbol was on their foreheads. The Jaffa wanted to make sure there were no survivors of their ambush. Apparently, they found none of Maylin's tracks.

As they were ending their search and deciding there was no one left, the leader of this group began to speak to the others. She heard talk of taking over the entire planet as a new world for the Goa'uld because of its location. The people who lived there were very primitive, so it would be easy to take over. The Jaffa were told to get any potential hosts they deemed worthy, but to kill those in villages near the gate. The people on the rest of the planet that they didn't kill or take for hosts would be enslaved.

A lot of this didn't make much sense to Maylin, of course, but she knew their plans meant bad news for her world.

After the Jaffa had left her village and had gone over the crest of the nearby hill, Maylin sat in shock for an hour or so. She then got up out of her hiding spot, taking a small stick with her, and went into her house, not even looking at the bodies on the ground. Once she lied down on her bed she made the marks on her arm, figuring she was as good as dead. At this point, in fact, she would rather be dead.

She lied there for several hours. During that time her mind kept uncontrollably replaying the events of the day. The next thing she could remember was staring into Daniel's eyes and him asking her if the Jaffa were coming back to the village. Somehow she knew that he was a friend, rather than an enemy, but she was still so traumatized that she couldn't respond to his question verbally.

FLASHBACK ENDS 

Daniel looked at her and didn't even have a clue as to how to respond.

Maylin continued to look down at her hands. She was very still.

Daniel cleared his throat. "I, uh . . . I don't know what to say. I'm sorry."

She didn't move.

Daniel took his free hand and lifted her head, gently cupping her chin. "Are you OK?"

She looked him in the eyes.

"Stupid question, huh?" he said as he took his hand from her chin.

She looked back down at her lap.

"Um, a lot of this probably doesn't make much sense to you, does it?" Daniel said.

She shook her head no.

"Right. Well, I still need to ask you one more question. Are you up to it now, or do you want to rest?"

She shrugged.

"OK. Um, Maylin, did they take away anyone from your village? Like your mother?"

She swung her head quickly to look at him. "How did you know?"

"Actually, it was just a guess," he told her. "Did they take anyone else?"

"I don't know. I can't remember anything else, I promise," she cried as she looked back down. She was obviously getting tired of all this questioning.

"OK. Good enough," he said. "You don't have to answer anymore questions."

She looked back up at him. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"What's going to happen to me?"

'Good question,' Daniel thought.

"Well," he said, "I don't know exactly right now, but whatever happens, my friends and I are going to make sure that you're safe."

She just looked back down. "When can I leave this room?"

"Right now," said Janet as she came in the room.

"Really?" Daniel asked, looking at her.

"Yes, really," she said. "In fact, I'd say I'm overdo to get her out of here." She looked at the girl with compassion. "I'm sorry you were put in here Maylin. It was only for your protection."

Daniel looked back at Maylin and smiled. She was still looking down.

"Did you hear that, Maylin?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied flatly.

"Come on," said Janet, "let's get you out of here and to somewhere more pleasant."

ooOoo

Maylin, who had been in a hospital gown, was now in regular clothing that Sam had gone out and bought for her.

Daniel showed her the guest quarters that she would be staying in until they figured out where she would stay permanently.

"So, this is it," he said. "What do you think?"

She hadn't said a word since they had left the medical isolation room. Daniel was getting really worried about the deep depression she seemed to be sinking into.

Daniel plopped down on the bed and patted a spot next to him. "Come sit down for a minute," he said to her.

She sat next to him, looking at the floor.

"Maylin, I've been doing some thinking about where you might stay from now on."

She looked up at him.

"There are some people on a planet called Edora. We can get there through the Stargate. From what I can tell, they live in much the same way that your people lived. They are a very kind and peaceful people." Daniel paused. "What would you think about living there with them?"

She looked back down at the floor. "I - I was hoping . . ."

"What?"

"I was hoping I could stay with - with you."

"Oh." Daniel didn't quite know what to say. "Well, I don't think you'd like staying with me very much."

"Why?"

"Well, because I work an awful lot. I'm really hardly ever at home." Daniel realized that this must have been how his grandfather had felt when he had needed a new home. Then he thought about how he had felt when he was told he was going to be put into foster care. "I want you to understand that it's not because I don't care about you." That's what he had wanted to hear his grandfather say at the time, so he figured Maylin needed to hear it from him now.

She looked back up at him. She didn't seem to believe what he was saying.

"Look, another reason I think you'd like living on Edora more than with me here on Earth is because they live more like you did than we do here. I think it would be easier for you to adjust that way. You've already got enough to deal with as it is," he told her.

She looked back down.

"Do you understand?" he asked.

She shrugged.

He knew that she must be feeling very rejected right now. Boy, did he know. If only there was something more he could do for her. He really felt that living on Edora was the best thing for her, however. He knew that they would make her feel welcome.

"I'll visit you. I promise," he said.

She looked up at him again. She was angry now. "You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do. Look, believe it or not, I now exactly how you feel right now. But I really think that living on Edora is best for you. I promise, I will visit. I will not forget about you." He looked deeply into her eyes.

"I think I believe you," she said cautiously.

"Good."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Maylin had wanted to rest for a while, so Daniel went back to his office. He had a pile of work he needed to catch back up on.

After a couple of hours of working, Sam came in his office. "What'ca doin'?" she asked playfully.

"Trying to catch up on some work," he said, not even lifting his head to acknowledge her.

"Well, that'll have to wait for a while," she said with a grin on her face.

"What?" he asked as he finally looked up at her. He noticed that she had her jacket on.

"Come on Daniel, it's time for dinner and the family gathering."

He smiled with curiosity. "The what? What are you talking about?"

Sam grabbed his jacket that was lying nearby and threw it at him. He caught it.

"Come on!" she called as she went out the door.

Daniel sat still for a second, staring at the doorway. Then he decided he was just too curious about this 'family gathering' to pass it up. He put on his jacket and followed Sam.

She was waiting a few feet outside his door for him. Once he came out into the hall she led him to the guest quarters where Maylin was staying. The girl sat on the bed in the quarters with a jacket on.

"Sam?" Daniel said.

"Come on, or we'll be late."

Daniel shrugged at Maylin. He took her hand and they followed Sam as she continued down the hall.

They went up to the surface and out to Sam's car.

"Sam, will you please tell me what's going on." Daniel was very confused.

"It's OK, Daniel. Maylin has permission to leave the base. And I already told you what's going on: the family gathering," Sam said as she got into her car. "Now get in."

Daniel looked at Maylin and shrugged again. "OK."

They got in the car and Sam drove them to Jack's house.

Sam pulled into the driveway. "Let's go," Sam said as she got out of her car.

"This is Jack's house," Daniel explained to Maylin as they got out of the car. "Although, I have no idea why we're here."

Sam went up to Jack's front door and knocked on it. Daniel and Maylin joined her there just as Teal'c, with a hat on his head, opened the door.

"Hello," Teal'c said with a slight smile on his face.

Maylin didn't seem to be paying much attention to what was going on. She seemed to be off in her own world. Daniel, who stood behind her, put his hands on her shoulders. " Maylin, this is Teal'c. Teal'c, this is Maylin."

She looked up at him. Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice the bit of the gold emblem that was peeking from below the brim of his had. Or if she did, she didn't connect it with those who had attacked her village.

Teal'c bowed his head. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Teal'c motioned for them to come into the house, closing the door behind them.

Jack was standing by the dinner table. It was nicely decorated with a lovely tablecloth, lit candles as a centerpiece, nice dishes, and warm food all around.

"Hurry up, Daniel. The food's gettin' cold," Jack said.

Daniel looked at Sam as she took off her jacket and then helped Maylin take hers off. "OK, I give up. What's going on?" he said.

"You said we were your family, right?" Sam said as Teal'c took the jackets from her and hung them up in the front hall closet.

Daniel nodded.

"Well, we all feel the same way. And we know that Maylin needs a family to be a part of now, so, here we are," Sam answered.

"Can we eat now that we have all that straightened out?" Jack asked.

Daniel smiled playfully as he looked at Jack and shook his head. "There's one in every family."

Jack smirked at him.

Sam began taking Daniel's jacket off as he looked around the room at those that surrounded him, ending with Maylin. His jacket was off now and Teal'c was hanging it in the closet.

"Let's eat," Daniel said as he took Maylin's hand and headed toward the table.

They all sat around the table: Daniel, Maylin, Sam, Teal'c, and Jack. There they were: a family.

They each had a wine glass as a part of their place settings. Of course, Maylin and Teal'c had apple cider in their glasses rather than wine.

"A toast!" Sam said.

"Yes," replied Daniel.

All but Maylin began picking up their glasses. Sam motioned for her to do as the others.

"To new friends," Sam said as she looked at Maylin.

"To food that's not too cold to eat," said Jack.

The others gave him a funny look.

Daniel looked around at his friends once more. "To family," he said.

"To family!" the other three member of SG-1 said as they all clanged their glasses together.

That night they had a delicious dinner and wonderful conversation. Maylin was very quiet during her time there, but she did grin a few times. She liked listening as they recounted old stories. She was beginning to like these people.

ooOoo

The next morning Daniel went to see General Hammond about sending Maylin to Edora. He agreed that sending her there was probably the best thing for her. He and Jack were scheduled to take her there at 1100.

ooOoo

Daniel knocked on the door to the guest quarters. There was no answer.

"Maylin? It's Daniel. Can I come in?"

There was still no answer.

"Maylin? Are you all right?"

Nothing.

"I'm coming in," Daniel said and then opened the door slowly.

Maylin was lying on the bed, tears in her eyes.

Daniel walked up to the bed and sat on its edge next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Are you sending me away today?"

"If you're asking if I'm taking you to Edora today, the answer is yes."

"I don't want to leave," she said through the tears.

Daniel sighed. "I know."

"I liked being there with your family. It reminded me of . . ." She got choked up and couldn't continue her sentence.

"Look," he said, "that isn't just my family. It's yours too. We will always be your family."

She looked at him with a bit of hope in her eyes. "Really?"

"Yes. And I'm sure the Edorans will become family to you as well."

"You promise you will visit?"

"Yes, I promise."

She began wiping the tears off her face. "Will you tell me more about the stories you all were talking about?"

"The stories from last night? Well, most of them are pretty long."

She looked disappointed.

"But, I think I can think of a couple that aren't so long."

She managed a bit of a smile.

Daniel told her a couple of their missions that were on the lighter and slightly duller side.

ooOoo

At 1100, Jack, Daniel, and Maylin were ready to go through the Stargate.

"Well," Jack said quietly to Daniel as they waited for all the chevrons to be encoded, "Laira did ask me to give her a child."

Daniel shot him a look as he remembered what Jack had told him about what had occurred during the time he was stranded on Edora.

"What?" Jack said with a bit of mischievous grin. "She did ask me."

ooOoo

The three of them went through the 'gate to Edora. They found Laira in the village. She and Jack greeted each other and hugged. Daniel then introduced Laira and Maylin to each other. Next, Jack took Laira aside and told her the basics of how they had met Maylin and that she needed a new home.

"We were wondering if she could stay here," Jack said to her.

"Of course!" said Laira "We would be happy to have her."

"Good," Jack said. "Thank you."

The two of them walked over to Daniel and Maylin.

"Everything's all set," Jack told them.

ooOoo

The four of them walked back to the Stargate. Maylin stayed right by Daniel's side the whole time, firmly holding his hand. Once they arrived at the 'gate, Daniel let go of her hand to dial home and send SG-1's code through.

Maylin didn't want Daniel to leave. She grabbed his hand again and held it tight.

Daniel, sensing her feelings, knelt down beside her.

"Maylin, I have to go now," he said. He wanted to stay longer, but SG-1 had a mission to go on in a couple of hours.

She looked down at the ground.

Daniel took the hand that wasn't holding hers and made her look at him, gently cupping her chin. "I know this is hard. But remember, we're family. I'll be back to visit."

She paused and then nodded as tears began to run down her cheeks.

"Come here," he said as he began giving her a hug.

When they were done with their hug, Daniel kissed her on the forehead and stood up. He then put Maylin's hand in Laira's.

The two watched as Daniel and Jack walked up to the 'gate. They both stopped just at the event horizon and looked back at the friends they were leaving. Jack waved to the two of them and then went on through the 'gate. Daniel looked at Maylin for a moment. He then looked at Laira and said, "Thank you." She smiled and bowed her head slightly in response.

He looked back at Maylin. "I'll see you soon." He then turned and went through the 'gate.

THE END

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A/N: While this isn't the first fanfic I've written, it was the first Stargate story that was conceived in my mind.


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